Letting your home without agents

My wife and I are emigrating soon and we need to let out our home. We are unconvinced that using a property agent to a. find tenants, and b. manage the property, is of any real value.

In terms of letting it, why would you pay a months rent place an ad and do the viewings yourself? Some even try to charge for the ads on top of the letting fee!

Managing is obviously more complicated. We will be living abroad but we have friends and family who would help us if there was an emergency, to do inspections and deal with any issues. We also have very reliable tradesmen we have known for years to do any repairs.

We are just wondering if anyone has gone this route and what their experience is.

My sister let a house recently herself - the tenants were lovely kept the place clean and tidy but were so unreliable paying the rent. She asked them to leave which they did without any hassle and she then went through the Dublin City Council's RSA system. She rents the property to a DCC approved tenant - the DCC paid her rent. No hassle so far.

Having had a very bad experiences with letting agencies in the past, I would never use one again. In my experience, they are only interested in letting the property and getting the fee, after that, they don't really care. Even the ones that go on to manage the property aren't terribly interested in maintenance etc.

I prefer to meet the tenants and try to get a feeling of how they are and check the references myself.

I also use trusted tradesmen and leave their numbers with the tenants in case they have a problem.

In a nutshell, you would be better off letting the property yourself before you go abroad, have the rent paid directly into your bank account and monitor it closely online and have a relative on standby in case there's a problem with the property.

Don't forget to register with the PRTB and to inform your insurance company that you are letting the property (you'll need landlord's liability insurance).

Good luck with the letting and the new life abroad!

I agree with the others. It is better to do this yourself. Get a feel for the people you have in your home,build up a good relationship with them. Be fair in your dealings and 99% of the time you will reap the rewards -i.e. the home will be kept in good condition. If you have family nearby that can help in emergencies that's a bonus. I would also ensure someone pays a visit every four months or so just to make sure all is well. Keep an eye on your payments into your bank account. If you let to a tenant on social welfare the money is paid from the local authority straight into your account. However, recently local authorities have been reducing the amount of rent they pay on behalf of tenants and it is up to the tenant to tell you. The tenant is then suppose to make up the shortfall or you can renegotiate the rent downwards if appropriate.

Best of luck.

Folks, I would steer clear of letting agents. Over the past few years I've had the same property letting company/agent handle my apartment. Last year there was a dispute with the tenants and they went to the PRTB. The PRTB in turn requested the letting agent to turn up to a tribunal to deal with the issue which the letting agent choose to ignore. The PRTB again requested them to attend on my behalf but they requested and new date for the tribunal and failed to show up. This was all going on without my knowledge until April of this year when I recieved a summons and a fine of €3,900 - If I didnt pay they were willing to goto court for further action and possible jail sentence. I've